Name for an inexact abbreviation
What is the name for a word that is shortened, but done somewhat incorrectly?
As an example, the word distro is shortened from the word distribution, but with the trailing i changed to an o.
Therefore, the word distro is a ________ of the word distribution.
- variant?
- corruption?
Assume that no letter has been changed, distr + o is distro.
In what way is it incorrectly shortened? How is it different from any other similar derivation ending with an 'o'? Why would you think i is the trailing letter? As you have yourself noted, distro is a word.
It is essentially a contraction, drawing distr from distribution and then modifying with a terminal o to form a new word. The second part can be thought of as somewhat similar to weirdo, from weird.
Therefore, the word distro is derived from the word distribution.
It's a form of contraction:
contraction, noun: a shortening of a word, syllable, or word group by omission of one or more sounds or letters or by the reduction of two or more vowels or syllables to one [MW]
Specifically, it's a form of apocope:
apocope, noun: the loss of one or more sounds or letters at the end of a word
The word distro is formed from distribution by apocope and substitution. You can see other examples of this here.